West's mom likens him to Jesus; Winehouse gets in 'Trouble'; Barker promises Wall's LP will be 'feel-good.'
By MTV News staff
<P>Word to Mike Seaver and Boner: <b>Mary J. Blige</b> has some <i>Growing Pains</i> of her own. The singer has settled on that as the title for her new album — and has bumped its release by a week, from November 20 to November 27. The first single is called "Just Fine" and will be released to radio on Thursday (September 27). The track was produced by <b>Jazze Pha</b> and <b>Tricky Stewart</b> (<b>Britney Spears</b>, <b>Mya</b>), and is an uptempo party record with a dance/disco sound. On the track, Mary expresses the joy of having high self-esteem. "No time for moping around/ Are you kidding?" she sings. "And no time for negative vibes, 'cause I'm winning ... Got my head on straight, got my vibe right, ain't gonna let you kill it/ See, I wouldn't change, my life's just fine." ...</P><P>Is <b>Kanye West</b> the next MLK, Gandhi or Jesus? His mother, Donda West, didn't shy away from such comparisons in a recent interview with the <i>Baltimore Sun</i> — she was in town to promote her recent book, "Raising Kanye." "Kanye keeps it real," she said. "He touches the people. You never know how words can save a person's life, physically or otherwise. People like Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi or, in my view, Barack Obama, or Jesus Christ — people whose job it is to tell the truth — I see that in Kanye. Now, people like you are gonna go, 'Oh, Kanye's mom said he's like Jesus!' but ... when you have a gift, you didn't get it by yourself. ... Your truth is your truth." ...</P><P><b>Amy Winehouse</b> isn't one to hold back either — the troubled U.K. starlet has named her new DVD "I Told You I Was Trouble," according to <i>Uncut</i> magazine. Packed onto the disc is a documentary, a full concert she played in April at London's Shepherds Bush Empire, her "Rehab" performance from the Brit Awards, an early acoustic version of "There Is No Greater Love" and more. "I Told You I Was Trouble" will drop November 6, her publicist confirmed to MTV News. ...</P><P><b>Paul Wall</b>'s <a href="/news/articles/1554722/paul-wall-scores-juelz-travis-barker-lp.jhtml">next album</a> is going to have more of a rock edge, now that <b>Travis Barker</b> is producing it. "Paul usually stays around the same element," Barker told MTV News in Las Vegas <a href="javascript:launchOverdrive('id=1570110');"><b>while he was in town for the VMAs.</b></a> "Most of the Houston stuff is slow and real feel-good. This has faster tempos. Still feel-good, but it'll be different for Paul." ... Before he took his wild imagination to the big screen with "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," French director <b>Michel Gondry</b> was best known for his frequent collaborations with <b>Björk</b>, perhaps most memorably on the video for her song "Human Behaviour." Now the two are at it again. Gondry revealed to MTV News that a month from now, he will be directing the music video for "Declare Independence," from the Icelandic singer's latest album, <i>Volta.</i> ... <b>Dave Grohl</b> is getting axed — Gibson Guitar has come up with a new specialized model, the DG-335, for the <b>Foo Fighters</b> frontman. The instrument — which has a rare Pelham blue finish and looks like Grohl's signature guitar — will be available October 4. The price tag for the blue model is $4,468, while the ebony version is a bit cheaper at $3,880. ...</P><P><b>Evan Rachel Wood</b> apparently isn't too afraid of boyfriend <b>Marilyn Manson</b>'s fans. "I do feel [some of] his fans like me," she told <i>People</i> for its new issue, which streets Friday. But the actress revealed that she was a little more nervous about Manson seeing her sing onscreen in the new flick "Across the Universe." "I was shy because I didn't want to scare him off," she said. "I'm a singer too! Listen to me! But he's been really supportive, it's great. He's encouraged me about my singing more than anybody." The shock-rocker wasn't the only one who inspired Wood to sing, however — she also name-dropped <b>David Bowie</b> and let it be known that she has a tattoo of his Aladdin Sane lightning bolt. She also has matching tattoos with Manson. "We both got black hearts," she said. "It represents mad love." ...</P><P>The <b>Smashing Pumpkins</b> have issued a statement regarding the death of a man at their concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday night, in what police believe was a crowd-surfing accident. "The Smashing Pumpkins were deeply saddened to learn about the passing of a young man who attended their Vancouver show Monday night," read the statement, which was posted on <a href="http://www.smashingpumpkins.com" target="_blank">their Web site.</a> "As they and everyone else await news from the investigation into the nature of his passing, the band wants to express their sincerest condolences to his family and friends." ... <b>Vivica A. Fox</b> pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of drunk driving on Thursday, <i>The Associated Press</i> reports. The actress, who was arrested after being caught speeding in March, could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted. ...</P><P><b>Paris</b> in Rwanda: Hilton is making good on her promise to engage in philanthropic efforts by traveling to the impoverished African country, according to "Access Hollywood." The heiress will travel with a member of Playing for Good, a group that connects celebrities with charity organizations, and she is expected to make a financial contribution as well. According to TMZ.com, Hilton will go to Rwanda in November after she finishes filming her horror rock opera "Repo! The Genetic Opera." ... <b>Will Ferrell</b>'s charity auction has been won by a Dallas man, and his 10-year-old son will get the chance to play an extra in Ferrell's upcoming "Step Brothers" flick, <i>People</i> reports. The man, who has chosen to remain anonymous, put in a winning bid of $47,000, which will go to the Cancer for College foundation run by Ferrell's friend Craig Pollard. ...</P><P>Looks like it's almost <b>Tool</b> time again: The indefatigable heavy-rock band is putting together yet another stretch of dates in support of <i>10,000 Days,</i> which came out way back in May 2006. Dates have yet to be confirmed, but according to <a href="http://www.toolband.com" target="_blank">Tool's site,</a> they're stirring up a stretch across the West Coast that will begin in mid-November and last until Christmas. ... <b>Lollapalooza</b> founder <b>Perry Farrell</b> recently told MTV News' Tim Kash that he wants to see the fest <a href="/news/articles/1567105/lollapalooza-going-on-road-again.jhtml">travel across the world "before I die,"</a> but while those plans haven't come about yet, the dates are in place for next year's annual Chicago installment. Lolla will go down August 1-3, once again at Grant Park. ...</P><P><b>Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</b>'s <i>Magic</i> isn't happening until Tuesday, but they snuck out a vinyl version of the release on Wednesday that will allow it to be considered for the Grammys, according to the <i>Los Angeles Times.</i> ... The <b>Wu-Tang Clan</b>'s <b>Killah Priest</b> has been added to several dates on <b>Bury Your Dead</b>'s upcoming headlining run. Look for him to take the stage in Richmond, Virginia (October 17); Wilmington, North Carolina (October 18); Jacksonville, Florida (October 19); and Tampa, Florida (October 20). ... Bad news for fans of hardcore hip-hoppers <b>Twiztid</b>: The band's upcoming Toxic Terror Tour, featuring openers <b>Mower</b>, has been nixed following a recent car accident involving Twiztid's <b>Monoxide</b>. He suffered a torn ACL muscle in his knee, which will require he stays off it for the next month or so. ...</P><P>While <b>System of a Down</b>'s members <a href="/news/articles/1536182/system-down-members-plan-busy-hiatus.jhtml">go off and do their own things</a> — what with the band on hiatus — drummer <b>John Dolmayan</b> has firmed up plans for his new comic book site, <a href="http://www.TorpedoComics.com" target="_blank">TorpedoComics.com.</a> The Internet retail shop goes live November 1 and will boast some 15 million items, including comics, toys, graphic novels, trade paperbacks, superhero action figures and other related memorabilia. Dolmayan has also teamed with guitarist <b>Daron Malakian</b> for a new project, <b>Scars on Broadway</b>. ... Former <b>Mötley Crüe</b> drummer <b>Tommy Lee</b>, former <b>Anthrax</b> frontman <b>Joey Belladonna</b>, ex-<b>Megadeth</b> bassist <b>Dave Ellefson</b> and <b>Sevendust</b> singer <b>Lajon Witherspoon</b> are among the celebrities who'll appear at the Morgan Rose Celebrity Golf Classic, scheduled for November 15-16 at the Heritage Golf Club in Tucker, Georgia. Proceeds from the event will help support the Atlanta Children's Shelter. ...</P><P><b>Mudvayne</b> will release their latest LP, <i>By the People, for the People,</i> on November 27. The disc will boast several live recordings, rarities, demos and two new studio tracks, "Dull Boy" and a cover of the <b>Police</b>'s "King of Pain." The album will be entirely fan-generated; the band is asking its fans to participate in creating the album's contents. Fans can visit the band's <a href="http://www.mudvayne.com/" target="_blank">Web site</a> and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mudvayne" target="_blank">MySpace page</a>MySpace page</a> to help pick the track list, submit fan-generated album artwork and participate in creating the video for "Dull Boy," the first single. ...</P><P><b>Al Gore</b>'s "An Inconvenient Truth," which has been shown in some college and high school classrooms, got blowback earlier this year when a Washington school put a moratorium on the global-warming movie. Now a British school governor is taking an even stronger measure by suing the British government for distributing the movie to more than 3,500 secondary schools, according to <i>AP.</i> Paul Downes, a lawyer for Stewart Dimmock, said, "Given the serious inaccuracies in the film and the misrepresentations it contains, the film </P>
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